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Need advice if to replace calipers and which ones?
Took my front drivers side brakes apart. Slides, pins, etc all pretty good, not sticking, but worked them anyways.
Noticed pistons seemed rusty but boots in good shape. Put it back together, same sticking issue. The drag and howl once warmed up in stop and go traffic.
I've face this a number of times in other vehicles, but not the Ex.
I can remove the caliper completely, drain brake fluid, fill with penetrating fluid and let sit for about half hour, then work the pistons with C-clamp and air to work them in and out, flush a few times with brake fluid while working them again, then reinstall and hope for the best.
Or I can replace both front calipers. Not sure which ones or how much, though?
I noticed my "Buckzooka$$$" rounds have barely been lobbing themselves to the target and I'm afraid it's going to misfire a few times here...
Looking for decent calipers that won't "brake" the bank, LOL
My rotor is still good, pads excellent, so same style replacement would be helpful
On my truck my calipers were super stiff brakes were dragging I figured it was the slide pins but when I took the calipers off the pins were fine. The pistons were the problem it had the OEM phenolic plastic ones. I didn't know they were plastic until I broke one trying to pull it out. I re-built my front calipers with steel pistons from O'Reilly autoparts. And I purchased re-built rears that came with steel pistons and a nice gold finish from O'Reilly also. I didn't save much by re-building the fronts should have bought some like the rears. They say the steel pistons transfer too much heat into the brake fluid causing it to boil when brakes get too hot. I don't plan on doing any heavy towing so I think I will be ok. I also replaced my brake hoses since they say when they fail internally they hold fluid pressure to the caliper also making brakes stick. This was not my problem but I changed mine anyway. Good luck.
I would not recommend rebuilding calipers yourself. Its really just a band-aid, as I doubt many DIYers have the equipment/capability to do it right. I'm talking about re-sizing/refinishing the bore to factory specs, pressure testing, etc... Given how important brakes are, its not worth it.
Rock Auto or Auto Anything will probably have the best prices. Powerstop is also offering a $30 rebate right now.
I did the front and rear kit. It makes a tremendous improvement in braking. I now put slotted rotors on all my vehicles, though they are not all Powerstop brand. I got a great deal on some discontinued Brembo front rotors for the '93 Ranger, but that was a one-shot deal.
I do agree with doing the hoses at the same time. You're already there. do it now, so you don't have to worry about bleeding them again later. The hoses do "wear" out, just like radiator hoses, etc...
lordtavo has hit the nail squarely on the head. I'm pretty umm errrr economical (others call me other dirty names) and I have tinkered with calipers in the past. I have found that the time spent finding the tool(s) to get the thing apart, cleaning it up, etc are not worth it and I just trade them in for remans. I think you can get them from the stealership but I go to most any local parts store for mine. Lasts ones I got from Advance Auto but I did have one problem. I got one for each side and one of them was genuine Ford casting rebuilt in Mejico and the other was new Chi Nee. The Chi Nee didn't even finish machining it so it wouldn't fit on the truck. Just throwing on a reman caliper is a piece of cake compared to that other alternative.
BTW I just gravity bleed all of mine and have no problems.
I would not recommend rebuilding calipers yourself. Its really just a band-aid, as I doubt many DIYers have the equipment/capability to do it right. I'm talking about re-sizing/refinishing the bore to factory specs, pressure testing, etc... Given how important brakes are, its not worth it.
Rock Auto or Auto Anything will probably have the best prices. Powerstop is also offering a $30 rebate right now.
I did the front and rear kit. It makes a tremendous improvement in braking. I now put slotted rotors on all my vehicles, though they are not all Powerstop brand. I got a great deal on some discontinued Brembo front rotors for the '93 Ranger, but that was a one-shot deal.
I do agree with doing the hoses at the same time. You're already there. do it now, so you don't have to worry about bleeding them again later. The hoses do "wear" out, just like radiator hoses, etc...
Click...cli-cli--clik...misfire
For just the fronts, rebate is $10 for the kit. $30 for the set of 4?
$180+ per wheel isn't in the cards right now. I'll keep it in mind for down the road, but...
lordtavo has hit the nail squarely on the head. I'm pretty umm errrr economical (others call me other dirty names) and I have tinkered with calipers in the past. I have found that the time spent finding the tool(s) to get the thing apart, cleaning it up, etc are not worth it and I just trade them in for remans. I think you can get them from the stealership but I go to most any local parts store for mine. Lasts ones I got from Advance Auto but I did have one problem. I got one for each side and one of them was genuine Ford casting rebuilt in Mejico and the other was new Chi Nee. The Chi Nee didn't even finish machining it so it wouldn't fit on the truck. Just throwing on a reman caliper is a piece of cake compared to that other alternative.
BTW I just gravity bleed all of mine and have no problems.
True. I have rebuilt calipers before. The first one was too far gone and only lasted a short time. The second set was okay, but a lot of hassle for a few dollars difference.
If I needed pads and rotors, the kits Carguy posted are a good deal. $70-$100/ea for reman calipers only, or $180-$200/ea for caliper_pads+rotor
I'd like to be in the $100 range, even it I have to do it again in a year
The link you posted is broken.
The only difference would be the pad compound., But I don't see a Z26 kit listed for an'02 Excursion anywhere. Are you sure that's the right kit for your truck? Is it 2wd or 4wd?
The calipers are nothing "special", just decent quality remans that are powder coated to prevent rust. Plus they come with new hardware, etc..
The drilled/slotted rotors are where a lot of the performance comes from (along with the pad). The holes help cool the brakes, and the slots both dissipate gases and scrape the face of the pad to prevent glazing. (all of which causes brake fade).
Rock Auto has the KC190536 (Z36, pads, rotor, calipers) for $275.89, plus core($60) and shipping. I can give you a discount code for another 5% off.
I heard from a reputable source that those cavities (holes and slots) fill up with dust from the pads...
Umm, no. Not really. I've been using drilled and/or slotted rotors on several vehicles, for several years. Yes, if you look at them with the vehicle stopped after being driven, it may appear that the slots/holes are "filled", but the stuff just falls out, which means it gets replaced by fresh "dust" all the time.
I could never understand how reducing the surface area of the rotor (slots and holes) would increase the braking performance except maybe in in the case of racing conditions where you're doing a lot of hard braking with little recovery time so that temperature may be a greater factor than surface area.
I could never understand how reducing the surface area of the rotor (slots and holes) would increase the braking performance except maybe in in the case of racing conditions where you're doing a lot of hard braking with little recovery time so that temperature may be a greater factor than surface area.
Although it doesn't say it in the article above, slots also prevent pad "glazing" by scraping a tiny bit off the face of the pad, ensuring a fresh surface every time you brake
10-26-2015, 07:39 AM
